NEGOTIATION CONSULTING

As business becomes ever more sophisticated it is increasingly clear that negotiation is not just a step in the process, but an integral part of everything that we do. It exerts a critical influence on the profitability and market value of the organisation.

“The comprehensive and flexible nature of the consultants’ skill set always brings a fresh and experienced pair of eyes to the challenges we face”

Negotiation strategy is a broad term that describes many aspects of negotiation planning. At its best, it can transform the most difficult set of negotiating circumstances with a working tool which analyses approaches, selects the most appropriate actions, and coordinates them to optimise the result. We have the tools, methodology and experience to support you, challenge you and ensure that all of the essential elements of the negotiation have been assessed and addressed. You will emerge with confidence and clarity, both of which will enable greater success in your negotiations.

Internal stakeholder alignment is fundamental to the success of a negotiation. Where misalignment occurs and objectives are not agreed, your team are at best left negotiating on shifting sand and at worst will deliver an unexpected or unacceptable outcome. We help ensure that all stakeholders are aligned behind the key objectives and that those objectives have been challenged and are sufficiently SMART. We will explore the breakpoints and ‘red lines’ with you, and map out escalation points to maintain alignment throughout the negotiation.

Successful communication is achieved through thorough anticipation and understanding of the whole negotiation process. Effectively delivered and sequenced communications will transform the outcome of the negotiation and the attitude of your counterparty to the deal, and to your organisation. We can work with you and your negotiation team to map stakeholders within your organisation and theirs, identify the most effective message to deliver and who should be responsible for its delivery. We will work with you to interpret their messaging and your responses, so that the entire team feels confident to maintain strong communications throughout the negotiation.

Risk, in the context of negotiation, arises from uncertainty. The risk profile of any organization is different and sometimes we misperceive risk severity or likelihood. Understanding the risks that can arise during the negotiation process and during the life of the negotiated agreement is fundamental to achieving a successfully negotiated outcome. We can help your team to anticipate risks within the negotiation, assess their impact of the agreement and develop mitigation or avoidance strategies. The result will be fewer risks encountered and greater organizational clarity about how to appropriately respond to risk when it presents itself.

Strategic planning is essential in managing your negotiations, but it is nothing without tactical planning, which enables all of the ‘moves’, responses and individual activities to be mapped out. Planning before the negotiation commences, understanding the value of the variables that you will ask for or deploy, exploring how and when to make key moves and the impact that each action will have on the counterparty, and the outcome. We will develop value analytics, move plans and tactical engagement action plans with your team to ensure that everyone understands how the negotiation will play out to its ultimate conclusion and the part that they play in its success.

Negotiating with confidence comes from practice, anticipation and understanding the core principles of human psychology. Successful execution of the negotiation can be accomplished by understanding the impact of human interactions, personality traits and employing the art of subtle maneuvering during the negotiation meetings or communications. We can help your negotiators by crafting the words that will be used, role-playing specific interactions, designing communications or acting as a dispassionate sounding board when making difficult choices during the heat of the negotiation. This leads to greater confidence and less emotional energy being expended, or fewer emotional decisions being made when sound judgement is critical.

“They have proven the value of planning thoroughly for a negotiation, the necessity of being clear on your opening position and the roles needed around both sides of the table for a successful outcome ”

OUR WORK IN ACTION

Supplier Rationalisation

Corporate Sale

Resisting the Ask

Payment Terms

Asset Sale

Cost Price Increase

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Supplier Rationalisation

Exceeding objectives for a corporate-wide programme of efficiency savings

Our client, a UK FMCG business, needed to deliver a programme of cost savings in order to meet profit margin targets and reduce debt.

Their primary objective was rationalisation of their large and diverse supplier base. We developed a customised negotiation strategy for each supplier segment, coached the client throughout the programme, and project managed through to completion. The result exceeded our target by close to £1m, giving our client £20.75m incremental in-year investment for growth over two years.

Achieving an EBITDA of 117% target when supporting in the sale of an Aggregates business

Following a corporate review, our client undertook a programme to demerge the Holding Company and sell each of their four business units.

We were asked to support the sale of their Aggregates business to a private equity backed MBO team. Using our methodology, we developed a series of possible approaches, including introduction to and engagement with multiple private equity investors. An optimum approach was agreed which included tactical plans and alignment of all internal stakeholders, as well as out-the-room support to execute the negotiation. The result was a x7.5 EBITDA valuation versus the x6.5 objective, exceeding the client’s target by 15%.

Turning the ‘non-negotiable’ into a collaborative, value-creating negotiation

Our client, a US CPG company, was hit with a big ‘Ask’ from a major retailer – a demand for cash with nothing traded in return.

We worked with the client to build a proactive strategy to counter this and turn the ‘non-negotiable’ into a collaborative trading position with the retailer. What began with a $20m ‘Ask’ resulted in $40m top line gain.

Following the acquisition of a large UK Pharmacy retailer by our client, a global private equity company, we developed and implemented a negotiation strategy and process to improve payment terms.

We carried out a supplier segmentation based on the specifics of the negotiation in order to develop an appropriate strategy per segment. The result was payment days extended on average by 20 days in Goods For Resale and 19 days in Goods Not For Resale.

We worked with our client to help them realise the full value of the sale of a key asset in Eastern Europe.

Through analysis of the variables, risks and opportunities, we developed a range of possible strategies. Evaluation of these led to the adoption of a strategy and supporting tactical plans that our client could confidently execute. The result was an over achievement of the $4bn target sale valuation, delivered on time and with minimised operational risk.

Our client is a large Australian FMCG business. They had not implemented a price increase for some years and this had become unsustainable.

They believed they lacked the power to change this. We helped them take a fresh look at the balance of power and reassess where it lay, then plan and prepare for new, critical negotiations with their retail partners. The result was an achievement of their objective of a 5% price increase across the board.

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ABOUT THE GAP PARTNERSHIP

The Gap Partnership specialises exclusively in negotiation. We influence the profitability and market value of over 600 global companies across the world’s largest economies. Through our negotiation consulting and negotiation training we provide tailored solutions to support their commercial negotiation needs and live negotiation challenges. Together with our clients we optimise the commercial opportunities they have created.